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Stop Carrying So Many Brands!

Many opticals allow poor sellers to linger, accumulate, and unknowingly take up a large percentage of their inventory. Here’s what to do instead.

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WHAT PROBLEM IS the most shocking for offices to learn about their optical?” I was asked by a very brilliant doctor at a meeting in Orlando. I had given a talk on missed opportunities in independent optical inventory and I loved the uniqueness of this question.

“Easy,” I replied. “Most opticals are floored to see how many brands they are actually featuring in their optical!” I went on to explain that many optical teams know what the better selling brands are, but don’t make any strategic changes to their inventory to help these good sellers sell more, nor do they take the initiative to get rid of the poor selling brands. Many opticals allow these poor sellers to linger, accumulate, and unknowingly take up a large percentage of their inventory.

Here is a data shocker: Based on hundreds of independent opticals that we have in the FrameTurn system, 53% had over 65 brands represented when onboarding to the platform. Woah!

Reflecting upon the number of brands represented in your optical is a huge opportunity for inventory refinement that will bring about major growth. The most successful practices typically carry only 15 to 20 brands for smaller opticals, and up to 38 brands for larger opticals.

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MAKE ROOM: When you are able to free up space from brands that have loitered without performing, you can make room for more of what has been performing well in your optical. One mistake made by opticals is not adapting the inventory allotment based upon the performance of each brand. Getting rid of under-performing brands will make room to grow.

INCREASE PROFITABILITY: Allowing all the performing brands more room in your inventory will allow for the best sellers to stand out above the good selling brands. This is when you will capitalize on being able to adapt the retail price of the standouts. For tips on increasing the retail price of your top performers scan the QR Code.

DECREASE UNPRODUCTIVE VISITS: Think of how many hours are spent on rep visits. Many reps are a valuable partner in providing performance advice in business … but not all of them.

If there is a brand that is not monetarily providing growth to the business, there is no reason to be wasting time on visits for these brands.

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MASTER THE DETAILS: Most importantly the opticians will have fewer brands to focus on, allowing them to master the details and uniqueness of the best performers. This is one of the most beneficial results of increasing the brands that sell and decreasing those that don’t. Your team will be better versed in the features and styling. They will develop a distinct knowledge of the details and facial features that are best suited for these featured brands.

Many opticals are shocked to run a report and count up how many brands they are actually carrying. Reflecting upon the number of brands presented in your optical is a great opportunity for you to grow by simplifying to increase performance. I challenge you to count up how many brands you have, even if they are one you are not “reordering” or “phasing out.” These brands are taking up space that can be given to the great performers.

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